The Herald's Beginning
by Drummerchick7
Summary: A backstory for my head canon Inquisitor, Zanneth Lavellan.


"What do you think the Keeper wants?"

Zanneth shook her head, smiling. "Why do you think _I_ know? She summoned us, we go. The sooner we get there, the sooner we will find out."

Her brother, Hyune, grinned sheepishly. "But I want to know now."

Zanneth laughed. "So impatient, _ma vhenan_! It is a wonder you are as good a hunter as you are!"

His grin broadened. "I spend all my patience out on the hunt, Sister! Here I must be impatient, to save my patience for feeding the clan!"

As they walked through the encampment, heading for the keeper's _aravel_, she saw Hyune's eyes wander to another, a girl just younger than his twenty years, who had just made her first kill, marking her as an adult who could get married, finish the _vallaslin_ upon her face, and start contributing in a very substantial way to the furthering of their clan's survival.

"I imagine that will be different when you have a wife, and children at her breast, _lethallin_," Zanneth said, pulling her brother's attention away from the young woman. She would be glad should he choose to court her, but until he did he should not look upon her with such open desire upon his face. It was, quite simply, rude.

Hyune took the hint, looking back in front of him and leaving the young woman to her business. "Perhaps I will need more patience then. But for now is it really so bad?"

Zanneth shrugged. "More patience is always a good thing. Hot heads make mistakes."

"Hot heads have _passion_," a male voice spoke behind them. Her heart beat faster at its sound. This was Sinna, the handsome hunter who had been paying court to her. She expected his proposal any day now.

She was not sure how she felt about it, nor about him.

He was lovely. Kind, caring, a skilled hunter, tall for an elf, handsome, and with a smile ever-present upon his face. He would make a wonderful father. But was that enough to build a marriage on? Enough to bear children for him? Enough to tie herself to him until their dying day?

Much was expected of her, granddaughter of the Keeper as she was. She was a natural - if soft-spoken - leader, handsome in her own right, a skilled huntress who had taught her brother everything he knew. It was a good match, one that made sense. And she could not deny that they were on friendly terms. Could that grow into love?

Given her duty to her clan, to her people, did love matter?

"'Passion is the enemy of survival, at times,'" she intoned, smirking as Sinna came up beside them. "Were you summoned, as well, Sinna?"

He nodded, smiling. "Yes. Should be interesting. I wonder what three hunters could do for the Keeper?"

Zanneth shook her head. "We shall simply have to see, rather than waste time speculating. Honestly, you and Hyune are more alike than he and I."

"You and I would get along dreadfully if we were alike, Sister," Hyune, responded, slowing and reaching for the leather flap that covered the opening to the Keeper's _aravel_. "After you?"

Zanneth rolled her eyes, stepping through without a word.

The interior was dim, but her elven eyes adjusted almost instantly. Seated on some feather-stuffed cushions sat hers and Hyune's grandmother, Deshanna Istimaethoriel Lavellan, the clan name added to her given and family names, as it was for all members of the clan. She was Keeper of the Lavellan Clan, keeper of their memories, of their lore, of their magic - and mother to Zanneth's mother. Her First sat beside her. Even after all these years, Zanneth did not know the man well. He was raised away from the communal childcare the rest of the clan's children received, apprenticed to and studying with the Keeper from a very young age.

"Grandmother?" she asked.

The older woman smiled, beckoning the three of them inside. "Please, sit. We have much to discuss."

"What might you need your three best hunters for, Grandmother?" Hyune asked, moving to sit at her side. He had spent much of his childhood in her lap, and remained close with her still. It was understandable, as both their parents had been killed early in their life while out on the hunt, leaving the children to be raised communally. This was mostly fine, and they wanted for nothing, but where one-on-one intimacy with a family member might have been filled by their parents, their grandmother had stepped in. It was… unusual, as she was Keeper and pledged to treat the entire clan as her family. But no one would speak openly against her, and so she had stepped in with Zanneth and Hyune, helping to raise them when they were not with the rest of the children during the day.

"All will be revealed shortly," said the Keeper, smiling indulgently at him. He smiled back, laughing when she reached up and ruffled his hair, something she had done since he was a small boy barely off their mother's breast.

Sinna sat close to Zanneth, smiling and taking her hand, squeezing it for a moment. It made her heart race, but with excitement or dread she could not be sure. She forced a smile, allowing him to keep hold of her hand as her grandmother began to speak, knowing eyes resting on her. They held a smirk, but also sympathy. _Perhaps I should speak with her of this reticence…_

"We stay away from the humans and their lands, their politics, their leaders and governments and armies, as you well know. We keep away from their Chantry, their religious zealots, their Templars, their Circle. But… it is still good to know what is happening in their world. It would be naive to believe that their actions, their policies, their religious events, do not affect us. We need to know what is going on, so that we might ascertain what we must do. We must decide what response we must make, if any at all."

The three hunters sat for a moment, quiet, taking in the information. Zanneth was aware of Sinna's thumb stroking the top of her hand. She wanted to ask him to stop, to ask him and the clan's First to leave so she and her brother could speak with her grandmother in private. But this was not a family matter, it was a clan matter, and she could not monopolize her grandmother's time. And she could think of no good reason for Sinna to stop the innocent gesture of affection, so she did not ask him to stop. She merely tried to ignore it instead.

"Perhaps I am being dense, but why are you telling us this, Keeper?" asked her First, Relarian.

She smiled indulgently, her hand finally falling from Hyune's shoulder as she looked upon her apprentice. "You are not dense, Relarian. I am telling you this because the Chantry's leader has called a meeting of mages and Templars. You would not know it, but they are in contention; a full-scale rebellion has broken out among their mages and Templars. This is the reason for increased human activity in the forests, why we have been moving more the last year or two."

"How do you know all this, Grandmother?" Zanneth asked, brows furrowed. Her hand was still held by Sinna, but she paid it no mind. There were more important things happening than her discomfort.

"Do not think me without my resources, child," the Keeper responded. "I have sources outside our clan. And there are many clans, many Keepers. We keep in contact when it is most desperately needed. I have been tasked with finding out what is to happen at this Conclave, this meeting of mages and Templars in the newly-discovered holy temple in the mountains to the south. I need agents there. Spies. Men and women who can function on their own, not be detected, and who can report back to me all they see.

"_You_ are to be those spies," she finished, meeting each young person's eyes, one by one, until her gaze rested on Zanneth's alone. She was the oldest. She would lead them. She was being charged by her Keeper, her grandmother, to do it.

"Very well, Grandmother," Zanneth said with a nod. "I will do this thing. If it is for the betterment of our clan. I would be honored."

The boys in the room echoed her sentiment, murmuring their assent.

The Keeper smiled. "Good. Now, share a meal with me, and I will teach you all I can about how the _shemlen_ work. It is… a lot of information. First, they believe in only one deity, their Maker, who made the world and all creatures. They disappointed Him in some way, and he turned away from them, leaving this world and its inhabitants to fend for themselves…"

* * *

><p>Zanneth stood in the <em>aravel<em> she shared with the other unmarried adult women, looking at her paltry amount of belongings. Should she just bring it all with her? Would her sleeping mat go to someone else? She had a special travel bedroll that was thinner, meant to be rolled up everyday for travel. None of her items were all that functional - a hairbrush, a carved wooden halla, a rare glass hand mirror that had been her mother's - but they were meaningful to her. She wanted comforts of home. She had never been gone this long.

Sighing, she took them all, knowing she had the room in her pack. The mirror she wrapped delicately in extra undergarments, burying it in the very center so as to avoid accidentally breaking it. Then she slung her pack upon her back, securing her hunter's longbow next to it, her quiver along the other side, and her hunting knife to the small of her back. Her mother's hunting coat firmly in place underneath all this, she left the _aravel_ to find Hyune already awaiting her outside.

"Are you ready, Sister?"

He wore their father's favored hunting coat, his long black hair pulled back in a braid much like her own. They really looked quite a bit alike, though she was shorter and her skin duskier. They'd been accused of being twins before, but she was several years older than he. They'd had a sibling in between, but the girl had died not long after Hyune himself was born, a weak constitution leaving her unable to battle the pneumonia that she had contracted. It was very sad, and Zanneth had not handled it well. She'd been described as reserved, closed off, ever since. She had been five years old, seven when their parents perished.

This was perhaps why she was still unmarried. The others of her clan found her difficult to approach, and she could not deny that she found it difficult to open up. But Sinna had been Hyune's friend first, and it was with her brother that she was most comfortable, most open. Sinna had seen her at her most honest, and he seemed to like what he saw. She could not deny that it did feel nice to be open to someone other than her brother and grandmother, but she just was not sure it was the affection of a lover that she felt. He felt more like a brother than anything. But it was difficult to judge, as she had no other friends, and no other brothers besides Hyune. Perhaps this was how many people felt at the beginning of a romance? The Dalish elves were not known for being particularly passionate in public, though, so she had no way to judge how she felt against how other women behaved.

You did what needed doing. That was the beginning and end of it out here in the forest. And it was Zanneth's life philosophy.

Mentally shaking off her doubts and introspection, Zanneth smiled and placed her hand on her brother's shoulder. "Indeed, I am ready. Shall we go find our travel companions?"

"No need. They await us near Illand's craft station. We are to select any additional weapons and supplies to aid us in our journey. No one has ever been gone this long before."

Nodding, she began to walk, her brother falling in line by her side. "What do you think we'll see?" he asked her.

She just shrugged. "I don't know, Hyune. A lot of _shem_. Magic, Templars, their clerics and priests. Maybe war, maybe peace. Whatever we see, we need to pay attention, so we can report it back to Grandmother."

He nodded. "True enough." They lapsed into silence for a moment, but she could tell he ached to say something.

"What is it, Hyune?"

He sighed. "You always could read my mind."

She chuckled. "Yes, I always could. Good thing you stopped trying to lie to me ages ago."

He laughed at that. "As if I ever had a chance at getting you to believe anything!" Shaking his head, he sobered, turning furrowed brows upon her. "Do you love Sinna, Zanneth?"

The question surprised her so much that she stopped walking, turning to look up into his face. He was being completely serious, not like he usually was at all. "I… don't know, Hyune," she answered honestly, looking away, off into the trees. "He is… kind, handsome. A talented hunter. He would provide well."

"That is not love, Sister."

She sighed. "But it could be. With time. And I have never been a passionate person."

He nodded. "Cold logic is more your domain, it's true. But… perhaps you should wait for someone who does light the passionate fire?"

Her brows knit with a frown as she met his eyes - a dark brown exactly the match of her own. "What if that never happens? I have a duty to marry, produce children, continue the success and thriving of our clan, Hyune. As do you. Whether or not we find an impassioned love. I… if he asks, I will say yes. I may not be sure how I feel, but I am fond of him. He is our friend. If I cannot have love, then I can have the tender caress of a true friend who understands my mind, and who will not resent my bond with you. He is the only one, Hyune. My discomfort will dissipate."

He sighed. "You're right. There are not many who are man enough for you, and not many _I_ would approve of. I just… I want you to be happy. You so rarely are. You are also never truly sad, but…"

She placed a hand on his elbow. "I love you, too, Brother. Your concern is touching, but unnecessary. Besides," she said with a smile and a wink, letting go of him and turning to continue their march to the Craftsman's table. "He may decide I am a hag who he can no longer look upon, and our speculation could all be for naught."

He laughed, running to catch up. "Never! You are a handsome woman, Zanneth, and well-respected. I am surprised he is the only suitor."

She smiled. "He is the only one who figured out that the way to my heart is through _you_, little brother. He is smart. And that alone would make him worth anyone's time."

"True," Hyune conceded, a smile still on his face as they approached Master Illand and his apprentices.

* * *

><p>The fire crackled merrily. It was warm, safe, and burned with almost no smoke, thanks to the mixture of herbs the hunters had been making since they were practically babes. They poured the concoction on the wood, and it burned with almost no smoke, giving nobody their whereabouts who might be looking.<p>

Zanneth sat with her back to the fire, eating the meat and root vegetables that had been broiled on a stick for her. She'd always been a hearty eater thanks to the miles of ground she covered on foot as a huntress. But still she ate less than any of the men who had come along with her. Relarian was the most uncomfortable of the lot of them. He was no hunter, and while his elven nature kept him silent as they walked, she could tell the constant moving was taking a toll on the poor man. He dedicated his life to study, to learning the old ways, the old language, the old spells. He would be their lorekeeper one day. He was not accustomed to the constant physical activity.

He ate ravenously, and slept so heavily that they had had trouble waking him for his watch the first night. Privately, she, Hyune, and Sinna had agreed to give the poor man a reprieve for the first week of travel and let him sleep the night through. There was no shame in his not being in as good physical shape as they themselves were. His role, his function in their clan, was different from theirs, and required a mental stamina and plasticity from him that none of the three hunters could have hoped to devote should they try.

Their time on the road had been mostly quiet, as was the way of elven hunters. They walked, hunting as they went, digging roots and picking berries when the opportunity presented itself. They did not wish to break into their stores until necessary. For now the food was plentiful as the summer approached the fall, and they took advantage of the bounty without wasting anything. Many thanks were given to Mythal as they travelled.

Now, a week in to their journey and another week yet from the town in the mountains called Haven, they decided to retire early in the evening. Zanneth was eating this second, smaller meal - the leftovers, since they had no room in their packs for the extra food and she did not wish to waste it - while beginning her watch. Her brother had already retired to their sole tent, likely already asleep. Relarian had _just_ disappeared inside, having taken the extra time provided to bathe in the stream some ways away from their small camp. Only Sinna was awake, standing nearby and looking into the trees.

"Are you unable to sleep, Sinna?" she asked, not knowing why she was compelled to speak with him, but hoping the inclination was a positive sign.

He turned, looking down at her by the fire. His _vallaslin_, simple and elegant, stood out in the moon- and firelight, making his pale skin look paler than normal. His fair hair was down about his shoulders, unlike during the day, and the effect on his tall frame made him particularly handsome. Her stomach somersaulted, but she was still not sure if this was a positive or a negative thing.

"I suppose I am," he answered her. His voice was deep, deeper than most of her people. He had come to them as a child from the _shemlen_, found as the son of dead flat ear servants. The lords they'd served had been raided by bandits, and her clan had found him hiding, taken him in. He might be half-human, even - it was unclear, but his height and voice made it seem possible, as did the _shemlen_ practice of raping their servants. But the man he knew as his father, who loved his mother and helped raise him, was another flat ear like his mother, and so the Keeper had quieted any rumors and mistreatments of him, and he had taken to their training with enthusiasm. He retained some flat ear traits, like his boisterous nature and his persistent smile, but other than that… he was, quite simply, one of The People.

"Any particular reason?"

He sighed, his smile gone for the moment. He walked the few paces between them, taking a seat upon the ground by her side. Taking her hand, he looked down into her eyes. His were a gorgeous green color, captivating, alien - no one else in the Lavellan clan had eyes that color.

"Do you… care for me, Zanneth?"

Her heart began hammering in her chest. She put down her food, her appetite immediately leaving her. "I…"

"Because I very much care for _you_. You… are like me, an orphan, though I envy you the connection you share with your brother and grandmother. I… well, you are reserved, which I can appreciate, given all that has happened to you. You do not open up easily. I feel privileged to be one to whom you share even some small part of yourself with. It will take time to forge a deeper bond. But… Are you interested in a deeper bond? I will leave you be if you wish it, Zanneth."

The elven woman was quiet. She did not know what to say. Words that came so easily when she was with her brother or her grandmother failed her now. But Sinna, wonderful and understanding man that he was, merely stayed quiet, holding her gaze but not rushing her. She stared into those eyes, picturing the small children who might inherit them. The blonde hair, her own dark brown eyes with tan skin and longer-than-average pointed ears…

She could love him. And she could definitely love those children.

But was he asking her to marry him?

"I… am not sure what you are asking, precisely," she finally said, knowing it fell short of what he had hoped for - some impassioned declaration of love, most likely - but unable to avoid it. She would not be someone other than her reticent self, not now, not ever.

He smiled faintly. "I was hoping for some definitive answer as to whether you cared for me," he answered.

She sighed, twining her fingers with his. "I _do_ care for you, Sinna. I do not know what non-familial love is, but perhaps this," she said, indicating their joined hands, "can grow into the kind of love our mothers shared with our fathers. I am… _fond_ of you. Is that enough for you? Do you wish someone less reserved, more passionate?"

He smiled softly, shaking his head. "No, _ma vhenan_. I desire you alone, just as you are. When… when we return to The People, will you join with me in marriage? Will you build a new _aravel_ with me?"

Her heart thumping, her legs made of water, she nodded, accepting his lips on her own as he bent down to bestow upon her the first kiss she had ever had.

Sinna's lips were warm, his tongue wet. It was sloppy, yet lovely. His hands sought out her waist, and Zanneth could not deny that he felt good as he laid her down on the grass, spreading himself out on top of her.

"Wait," she panted after finally breaking the kiss.

"Yes, _ma vhenan_?" One hand cupped her cheek, the thumb stroking her cheekbone, where her _vallaslin_ began. The other hand covered her breast, seeking out the ties to her shirt.

"We are not _yet_ wed, Sinna…" Zanneth felt hot, stifled. But also excited, her blood pounding in anticipation.

"We have agreed to wed, Zanneth," he said, his deep voice near her ear, causing a shiver down her spine. "Let us celebrate our burgeoning love, our joining, our new family, under Mythal's stars."

She could feel his desire pressing between her legs already, where his hips were now nestled. It was disconcerting… but it also caused her skin to flush, her pulse to quicken. A throb between her legs informed her that her body wanted this, even if she wasn't sure how to feel about _him_.

_We are to be wed_, she reasoned with herself, allowing him to kiss her once more. It's heat was searing, making her whimper. _Let us not delay. Let this belong to only us. Let the wedding, the building of the aravel, even the children, belong to the clan. Let this be mine, and his. Let us claim each other._

His teeth and tongue were on her throat, his hands opening her shirt, fondling her small breasts. He squeezed a nipple, moving lower to take it into his mouth, groaning his approval, causing her nerves to vibrate. No more words were spoken.

Then his hands were undoing the fastenings to her trousers, his fingers dipping in to find her sex, having no problem traveling through the sparse, downy hair to find her desperately wet. She had never felt quite this way before. It was hot, messy, fast…

Too fast. But then he was peeling her out of her clothes, and though she was unsure how she felt about _him_, Zanneth knew she wanted _this_.

Sitting up as he set her shirt aside, she pulled his own shirt off, not pausing with his hairless chest, going right for his trousers. She could feel – and see – his arousal straining to be set free, and she obliged, pulling his member out into the firelight even as she withdrew the fastenings of his trousers.

He took over from there, a gentle smile on his face. His eyes took in the sight of her naked body as he laid her on her back, but they also sought out her face, her eyes. His skin set hers alight when he met her again, spreading out on top of her. She felt his fingers at her sex, fumbling, as his burning mouth covered her own. Then she felt a push, a stretch, and his hips were against hers, his hands guiding her legs around him.

It hurt… but delightfully so. He moved, she moved. She could feel him silken inside her, sliding, moving. His arms held her to him, and he began to move faster, his lips near her ear.

Zanneth suddenly felt stifled, her heart pounding as he lost control, moving too fast, pushing too hard. But then he stopped, shuddering and grunting as he spasmed inside of her. His embrace gentled, and his lips – soft, warm – found hers. He withdrew from her, kissing her again and again, declaring his love her her, worshipping her skin with his hands and lips.

He drifted to sleep with his head on her breast, leaving her feeling better but… unfinished. Perhaps it would be better next time?

_Now we are wed before Mythal and all the gods, and you still cannot voice your mind. What is wrong with you, Zanneth?_

* * *

><p>They made love nightly for the remainder of their journey, waiting for one or the other of their watch and lying together beneath the stars, the heat from the fire and each other keeping them warm. It remained a build-up to… not much for Zanneth. But Sinna was clearly falling in love with her, and enjoyed their time together immensely. It was slightly frustrating, but if she could not yet give him her heart, then at least she could give him this.<p>

He was a good man. He deserved love and joy and the warm arms of a woman to comfort him.

Their interactions grew more comfortable, more affectionate, and while she was still her reserved self, she felt more comfortable with him than she ever had with anyone outside her family. And the fire within her blood demanded his lips, his kisses. They were new. It would get better. And it was not bad, to be perfectly honest. Just… awkward. Hopefully soon she would find her words and share them with him.

On the last night of the second week, her brother sat down beside her, interrupting her thoughts about what was to come later, when Sinna would come to her at her watch. She could really use a break, but she did not know how to refuse him… and it was not as though she didn't enjoy it.

"You and Sinna are to be married when we return?"

Zanneth didn't show her shock, but that did not make her any less surprised by his blunt handling of the matter. "I… yes, I have accepted his proposal."

Her brother smirked. "And you are already working on making me a little niece or nephew?"

Her cheeks flared with heat. She could only nod, could not look at him while he chuckled. She felt his hand on her shoulder.

"I am happy for you, Sister. I just… I hope you can be happy, too? _He_ clearly is."

She thought of Sinna's warm arms, the way he looked at her. She smiled. "I think I will get there, Hyune. And in the meantime… I am glad I can bring him such comfort."

Her brother nodded. "I can see that. Just…"

"What?"

He sighed. "I know you, Zanneth. You care so much about us - about me, Grandmother, our clan - that you forget about yourself. You are important, too, Zanneth. Your happiness, the things you want… try to make room for them. Please?"

Zanneth frowned. She had never noticed that about herself. "I suppose…" she evaded, not knowing what to think of his words. Hyune nodded, but his eyes remained sad. She placed a hand on his back, rubbing lightly the way their grandmother had always done for the both of them. "Go to bed, Hyune. We arrive at this Haven place tomorrow. We should be well-rested."

"Alright. But just… think on what I said, yes?"

She nodded. "Yes. I will do so."

He disappeared inside the tent, Sinna replacing him inside a minute.

"Hyune is alright?"

She smirked. "Yes. Though _you_ should know - he is your friend. Or do you neglect him to be in my arms?"

He smiled, lowering himself in front of her. Drawing her into his lap, he kissed her deeply. "There is much I would give up to be in your arms, Zanneth. Though your point is well taken. I will make an effort not to neglect my friend."

"Good." Tentatively, she leaned forward, initiating the kiss, something she rarely had done thus far. It felt… she would grow accustomed to it. She was comfortable with him. She liked his arms, his heat. Perhaps, with time, they would get a handle on this act of love, and come to draw mutual pleasure and comfort from it.

It was as good a goal as any.

* * *

><p><em>AN: This is the background for my first Inquisitor, Lady Lavellan. I liked her a lot - and she has Sam Traynor's voice! - and will likely bring her into the continuation of Forbidden Magic. If I ever write it. I am still near the beginning of a Mass Effect 3 novelization, so it will be a while before I try to take on the beast that is Dragon Age: Inquisition. But I'm sure PLENTY of one-shots will come from it. :)_

_I hope you enjoy this._


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